See why it's called 'tree brain'?

Tree fungi is just one sign of spring

While this isn't so much a sign of spring as of a sign of wet weather, I was happy to see some cheery, bright orange Dacrymyces palmatus growing out of a dead hemlock tree during the rainstorm last week.

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Posted Mar. 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Posted Mar. 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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While this isn't so much a sign of spring as of a sign of wet weather, I was happy to see some cheery, bright orange Dacrymyces palmatus growing out of a dead hemlock tree during the rainstorm last week.

Dacrmyces palmatus is a jelly fungus with a number of colorful common names — orange jelly, orange witches' butter, and, my favorite, orange tree brain. These types of fungi really do look like jelly, marmalade in this case. They are called "witches butter" because they look smooth and buttery but have the sinister mystique common to all fungi. These fungi are also known as "tree brains" because of their glistening, convoluted folding structure.

The part of the fungi that we commonly see, the mushroom, or toadstool or jelly, is the fruiting body, the reproductive part. The main part of the fungi, thread-like structures called mycelia, have already been growing throughout the wood or the soil, extracting nutrients from dead organic matter. When the mycelia are ready to reproduce, they create a fruiting body — a structure that sticks up into the air, a structure intended to deliver their spores to the winds. In the case of the orange tree brain, that is what all of those convoluted folds do, they elevate the spores and release them.

Most fungi are very picky about where they grow. When identifying this particular jelly fungus, I had to pay attention to where it was growing; in this case, it was growing on a dead hemlock tree. You will almost always find Dacrymyces palmatus growing on a dead, decorticated, conifer. In case you are wondering, as I was, what decorticated means, this refers to trees whose bark is beginning to peel off. Orange tree brain will also grow in cracks in the bark and from the ends of stumps.

There is a very similar-looking fungus called witches' butter (Tremella mesenterica) that only grows on hardwoods; you can tell which is which by looking at its substrate. If you are serious about trying to identify mushrooms, get used to jotting down where they are growing — conifer or hardwood or forest floor — substrate is almost always a critical detail in proper identification.

In addition to early fungi, this is the time of year that we start seeing those first signs of spring. Birds are courting; the mallards along the coast are bobbing their heads at each other, and the dawn chorus of songbirds establishing territory is beginning to break the silence of the early morning. Among the first of the migrants, turkey vultures have been spotted drifting north. And, I would bet that under all the snow there are crocuses and spring wildflowers poised and ready for a little sun and some warm spring rain.

Sue Pike, a researcher and an environmental sciences and biology teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, welcomes your ideas for future column topics. She may be reached at spike3116@gmail.com or via her blog, sp.stalux.org.